Two of a Kind
by MidnightFedora
Summary: Outcasts, misfits, wild cards. "I thought there was only one joker in the pack." "Well you haven't looked at many packs then, Chuckles." He'd never encountered someone so similar before, but that didn't mean he had a problem with it. After all, a burning world is a wonderful view, and it's only fair he shares it. Joker origin, Joker/OC. Re-write of The Wild Cards.
1. They Really Were Un-observant

**Before any of you go for the kill, I'd like to request that you make it painless. **

**And to those who have no idea what I'm talking about, then welcome to The Wild Cards!- Well, the re-write. TWC was my first story on here, and to be honest it started out pretty badly. I only ever got to about chapter seven before I decided to re-write the whole thing, changing Astral, the story line, and several other things. I could have posted this ages ago- I've had this thing written up for a while, but I'm too lazy. My writing skills have probably improved even since this, so after a chapter or two (I've written at least up to half way on chapter three) this should be a bit better. **

**So to those who were reading my previous version, I hope this makes it up to you for the long time without anything from me. Unless any of you have read 'Arkham Pranksters from Across the Rainbow.', which is a story co-authored by both me and Grey Desire. About that, We will start working on the next chapter soon, but it's going to be a filler. At least it should be funny. We've also done the first chapter for another story, which still needs a name, but will be going up over on Young Justice as soon as it has one. **

**Anybody who for some reason likes my writing, might also like an original story I'm going to put up soon on Fiction Press. It involves a whole bunch of things that I just decided to throw in there, and the name is 'All's Fair in Love and War.' Some of the 'bunch of things' include other worlds, a different society and species, interesting creatures that don't actually exist, and a girl who really wishes she didn't end up with certain relatives.**

**Enough advertising, I ought to get on with the story.**

**I don't own The Dark Knight.**

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**Prologue**

They really were un-observant. He had to have a quiet laugh at how ignorant people were of his 'anomalies'. Really, how could they seem not to notice the permanent grin etched on his face? They were all so absorbed in their pointless gossip that they were completely oblivious to the world around them.

Jack weaved among the crowd of teenagers, glancing every now and then to the map of the school that he held. He finally found the room he was looking for, his homeroom, and went in through the door. The room was mostly void of people, except for the teacher, Mr Friston (who was waiting for the room to fill up), and another student, who had her head resting in her crossed arms, black fedora slightly askew upon a mess of long black hair.

The girl groggily lifted her head at the sound of his entry, and Jack thought for a moment that she had been crying, but a second look proved otherwise, with a scar trailing down her cheek and to her jaw from under her eye. After a quick 'analysis', Jack was apparently deemed unimportant, as she went back to her previous position.

Before Jack could think on this any longer, the bell rung and the sound of students trampling down the hallway made Jack look over to the teacher, wondering where to sit. Mr Friston glanced over the top of his book for a moment, and then pointed to the seat next to the girl's, which was right in the back corner.

Shrugging, he walked over and dumped his bag under the table, pulling the chair out and seating himself. The girl next to him let out a huff of annoyance,(from having to get up for class or having him sit next to her, Jack didn't know) lifting herself up again and pulling the required books out of her bag.

The rest of the class filed in through the door, still going on about their weekend, and sat down in their chairs, barely watching what they were doing. A ball of paper went flying through the air in the direction of the girl-Jack really needed something better to refer to her as- and hit the top of her head, a couple of chuckles coming from the thrower and his friends. She gave them an irritated look, opening her mouth –most likely to send a biting remark- when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught the class's attention, causing them to quieten down.

"To start off, I would first like to mention our new student. Would you please introduce yourself?" Mr Friston directed the last question at him, causing the majority of the class to look his way. A lot of the students' eyes widened when they finally took notice of his scars, one or two making faces of disgust.

'_About time they paid attention to their surroundings.'_

Jack sighed in an overdramatic manner, taking on a bored look, before finally giving his name. "Jack Napier."

"Very nice to have you in the class, Jack. Now, I would like you all to be quiet and pay attention while I call out the roll…" Mr Friston sounded completely uninterested. The class went back to their pointless activities, and he was almost positive that he heard the word 'freak' thrown his way.

After about a minute of random scribbles (That almost made pictures), and not a single sound from the girl next to him (So he still didn't have a better label to call her-in his head of course), until she finally responded to one of the names that the teachers called out.

"Astral Miess?"

A yawn sounded, followed by "Right here…" after which he could he something like 'And 'm not moving anytime soon.' Came from the girl next to him. Another ball of paper aquatinted itself with her head, resulting in the bird being flipped at the culprit. Astral had a sleepy scowl on her face, not in the mood to be bothered by a couple of idiots.

Jack chuckled to himself at the exchange, but quietening to a smirk when she glared his way.

"Somethin' funny, Chuckles?" She growled half-heartedly.

"I'm trying to figure out if you're half awake, or half asleep."

"Feels like I'm half dead…" She mumbled tiredly, eyelids drooping steadily downwards. "Whatcha' want, anyway?"

"I'm bored, and you are being slightly entertaining. At least more than the rest of the idiots in the room." Jack shrugged with his response.

"Lovely, new kid finds me amusing… how long are you planning on annoying me?"

"Depends of the amount of amusing kids here. If there aren't many, then I guess I'll just pester you until that gets boring. Maybe there'll be someone else by then."

"Goodie."

"Oh, by the way, I don't _plan_ things. I just do them." Jack added as a bit of an afterthought.

"_Don't_ plan things, or _can't_ plan things?" She asked innocently, the smirk on her face betraying her.

"I know perfectly well how to plan. I just don't like to do it." He defended himself, off handily noticing that she seemed to be more welcome in the land of the living now.

"So did you plan to talk to me? You noticed me when you first walked in, you calculated me, and you thought about whether or not it would be worth talking to me. That is what you did, and it sounds an awful lot like planning. I think you like to make people think you don't plan, when most of the time, you do." She gave a small grin, happily amusing herself with the glare that he sent her way. He wasn't the only one who bugged people for entertainment.

"I preferred it when you were half asleep. You didn't annoy me back then." He fake pouted, apparently sad at the loss of someone to annoy who wouldn't return the favour.

"Well lookie here! New freak and old freak are getting along!" Said a smug voice. They turned their heads to find the one who was guilty for throwing the paper at Astral.

"Sammy, go back to your boyfriends. I'm not in the mood for your idiocy." Astral stated in a monotone voice.

"Awww! Is Miess having a bad day?" He mocked. A few more balls of paper flew in her direction, causing her to scowl at them.

"Would you please return to your seat, Sam, so we can get on with the class?" Sam just huffed at this, but did as the teacher asked.

"Now, if you would turn to your books…" Jack looked over at Astral again, sending her a grin when they made eye contact. They both knew very well that they would be talking a lot more often.


	2. Later in the Day

**I meant to post this earlier. I really did. Along with the other things I mentioned. But I've been busy! Honestly!**

**As for the story itself, I'm making some big changes from The Wild Cards. You'll see that here.**

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Later in the day, Astral could be found half asleep…Again.

Jack chuckled as he placed his lunch down beside hers, which had remained un-touched. He could quickly guess that she wasn't just half asleep, but fully, her deep breathing giving her away.

"You know you can't just sleep all day, princess." Jack stated, nudging the slumbering girl. "How often do you sleep, anyway?" The only reply was a garbled form of 'not enough', Astral groaning as she stretched out her muscles.

"Whenever I can get away with it... or whenever I feel tired." She answered, adding on the last bit as an after-thought. She sat slumped in her seat, using a flimsy plastic fork to pick at her food.

"Which is a lot?" Jack guessed, mentally shaking his head at the yawns that often escaped her mouth. One of these yawns was accompanied by a slight nod of the head, answering his question. "That can't be healthy. Do you even sleep at night?"

"Nope, not really. I'm pretty sure insomnia has something to do with it." She yawned again.

A black fedora sat on the table in front of her, looking as worn as it's owner.

"What's with the hat?" He asked curiously.

Astral seemed more alert at the mention of the item. "It was a gift from someone I really cared for." She didn't elaborate any further, instead finishing off her lunch and getting a well-used pack of cards out of her bag.

"Why do you have cards at school?" It didn't seem like the type of thing that one would use in this type of setting.

"I collect them. I play games, too, but those I'm no good at. I just know how to shuffle them." She proved her point by rapidly shuffling them in several different ways, each one obviously well practiced.

"Ever played poker?" He questioned.

"No, I haven't" She set out the cards for a game of solitaire.

"I'll have to teach you sometime, then." A mischievous spark had entered his eyes.

"I'd get my ass whooped, wouldn't I?"

"Yes, you would." The two of them went silent for a little while, the sound of cards moving and the occasional bite of an apple the only sounds coming from their table.

"So what brings you to Gotham?" The silence had finally been broken.

"We moved." The answer was terse, not wanting to expand on the topic. Astral just raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and went back to her card game.

After a little while, she packed the cards away, and went on to go through her school work, studying for whatever tests were coming up soon. It went on like this for a little while, until a shadow blocked the dim light coming through the nearby window.

"What do you want, Hughs?" Astral growled, gripping her pencil tightly and not looking up. Samuel Hughs stood above her, an ugly expression on his face, as he acted like he ruled the world.

"Is that a way to treat a fellow classmate, Miess?" He asked, fake hurt lacing his arrogant voice.

Jack suddenly straightened up, catching Sam's attention.

"No, but I'm _sure_ that no one actually cares, so why don't you go running to your little, pathetic clique, and stop wasting everybody's time. Hm?" He drawled, the words rolling off his tongue casually, as if he didn't just insult one of the worst bullies in the school. His lazy words were accompanied with a few hand gestures, waving off Sam carelessly.

Unable to come up with a decent retort, Sam growled, his face going red from anger. He stalked off, with one last look that seemed to say 'it's not over'.

Astral looked at Jack, as if she didn't know what to make of him.

"Why?"

It was just one word, a seemingly simple question, yet Jack knew that it was so much more than that.

"Why what?"

He decided to ask anyway.

Astral suddenly seemed very frustrated and confused.

"Everything! I'm a loner, a freak, weirdo, whatever you want to call it. No one just talks to me casually! No one ever jokes with me in a friendly way! I'm sarcastic, grumpy, and generally not a nice person to be around. I _swore_ that I wouldn't ever be relaxed and friendly with anyone, because before today, I was convinced that the rest of the world was a waste of time! In not even three hours, you've completely manage to uproot every guideline and belief I've set for myself! So, _why, _Jack Napier, do you somehow, against every one of my expectations, seem to actually freaking… _care._" The last word sounded awkward coming from her.

Jack was a little shocked by her outburst, and she seemed so as well. Jack leaned back in his chair, a contemplative frown on his face. Why did he care? He never has with anyone before. He's never even bothered to get to know, or even talk, with anyone. He's just always been…

'_A loner. A freak. A weirdo…'_

Jack smiled at Astral.

"I guess I just understand."

Hesitantly, she smiled back, almost seeming as if she wasn't sure how to. Jack grinned at her.

"There we go! A smile suits you much better!"

Astral grinned full out, laughing a little bit and relaxing back into her chair, for once not caring at all about the stares, and the sneers. The whispers behind her back went ignored, and the scar was nothing more than that- a scar.

The two of them kept on with a light conversation, going on about whatever they felt like, just enjoying the fact that they had someone to talk to, that they had each other to lean on and count on. It was cheesy, but when life is generally nothing short of miserable, you appreciate anything positive you can get.

They had an understanding, an unsaid agreement, that they had no one but each other. They both knew that they were the only people able to tolerate each other, and the other was the only person to tolerate them. Two outcasts. Two misfits.

Two wild cards.

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**There we go. I'll do the next chapter straight away for you guys.**


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